Jollibee to buy back P800-M shares

Jollibee Foods Corp. will buy back as much P800-million worth of its shares in the open market to strengthen its hold in the country's largest fastfood chain, company officials said.

"The program further underscores our commitment to enhancing long term shareholders value and reflects our confidence in the long term prospects of the company," JFC chairman and CEO Tony Tan Caktiong said.

JFC vice president for finance Miguel Jose Navarrete told the Philippine Stock Exchange that the company's board of directors had approved the stock repurchase program with the amount and timing subject to market conditions and other factors.

He said the share buyback would be carried out from purchases in the open market or through privately negotiated sales, as well as from the company's warrant issuance convertible into shares.

JFC has over 954 million common shares with a current market value of P10.7 billion based on the stock's closing price of P11.25 per share yesterday.

JFC has about 210 million shares in the form of warrants set to expire on March 2003. A warrant allow its holders the right, but not the obligation, to subscribe to new shares at a set price during the specific period.

The company had net profit of P932.12 million in 1999, just eight percent more than its 1998 income of P863.25 million after groping with weaker demand due to the lingering effects of the financial crisis.

Jollibee's total sales, which also include contributions from subsidiaries Greenwich Pizza, Mary's Foods Corp. and Delifrance went up by 11 percent during the year from P11.64 billion in 1998 to P12.95 billion.

As of end-99, the JFC network in the Philippines include 350 Jollibee outlets, 191 Greenwich stores, six Mary's Chicken and six Delifrance booths. JFC also has 21 international outlets in areas such as Hong Kong and the US.

The company had programmed the discontinuance of the operations of Mary's Chicken, although the timing for its phaseout remains to be decided. Tan Caktiong said this was a result of a decision to concentrate efforts on its major core brands.

JFC, however, has announced a merger with Chowking Foods Corp., the leader in the Oriental fast food segment to annex 159 stores and six outlets overseas.